1963 Jaguar E-Type

Incredibly, this original UK-delivered and righthand drive Series One has been the property of just four keepers from new.  Delivered in Kent in June of 1963, it wore then, as today it wears the appealing registration number of ‘6 YKJ’.  It continues to be propelled by its original numbers-matching engine too, albeit internally its improved from original, making it a large part of what’s truly enthralling about this E-Type….

The most recent careful and diligent ownership has been since 2007 and included the complete and comprehensive restoration of this motorcar from purchase until the end of 2008….

This was undertaken professionally with most parts sourced from Hutson Motor Company of West Yorkshire, but it takes a village, as they say, and other players from M&C Wilkinson of Doncaster, Park Engineering of Malton, Rob Beere Racing of Coventry, Hardy Engineering of Surrey, Dawson Upholstery of Norton and D. Laughton Fabricators of Tadcaster, amongst others, have all played a hand. Notwithstanding, this car’s enthusiastic owner of nearly twenty years is impressively engineeringly minded also.

The result? …. Well, very impressive to say the least. It’s been enjoyed on many occasions touring and gentleman-rallying throughout the UK and Europe. For this job, you’ll see that the seats fitted to the car are beautifully retrimmed MX5 seats which admittedly are very comfortable, though the originals do form part of the sale, as photographed.

The gunmetal grey paintwork, despite being almost twenty years old is almost flawless. Really very good indeed. That colour, contrasted with the Bordeaux leather interior and door cards is a timeless combination. The switchgear is all in working order, with further upgrades to operate the additional headlights, map lights, fan override switches, oil temperature reading, and the neatly mounted (on its own removable plinth) Brantz Rally timer, itself, a nod to the type of undertakings you could easily chose to experience with this E-Type.

Mechanically, it’s special. It just works. We know that’s the least you’d expect, but it’s not a given with cars from the 1960’s. It utilises a faultless Getrag 5-speed gearbox (though the original 4-Spd Moss box accompanies the car) to propel the car with effortless gearchanges which even an amateur driver can quickly master. The original 3.8 litre engine has been lightly breathed-on with a Rob Beere Racing fast road cam, and the engine has always been consistently maintained throughout its time, most recently in 2022 with a cylinder head overhaul and fitment of 123 distributor by West Riding Race and Restoration. Stopping is courtesy of Coopercaft disc brake conversion.

We welcome your serious consideration of this serious E-Type. We recognise not everyone will want to tour Europe in a car of this vintage, and if a Sunday driver is what you seek then this car is compliant enough to suit you too, but it’s always nice to know that given a long open road, you’ve got the gear to relish it!